TENNIS WTA FINALS – Waiting for the draws to be released on Saturday, all the contenders for this year’s WTA Finals are reaching Singapore for the last push of this long season.
The field is very different from the one of 2013, so much that only three out of eight finalists confirmed their presence an year later: Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova.
To be more precise, Maria Sharapova qualified for the WTA Finals of Istanbul, but did not take part due to injury, while Li Na, who played last year, qualified this year as well, but decided to retire no more than a month ago.
This year, the Road to Singapore has been as curvy as it can get, with many and unexpected shifts and changes, so that one of the slam finalists, four slam semifinalists and three two-time slam quarterfinalists did not qualify among the top eight.
However, contrary to last year, all of the eight names received a mathematical certainty of a ticket for the finals two weeks before the event.
Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki will all be trying to finish their seasons with a bang on a high, but who is the favourite?
Williams is always the one to watch. She is world number one and defending champion, but her 2014 was not as impressive as some other seasons. Her win-loss ratio is outstanding, but many physical problems withheld her from winning more, as much as she “only” captured one slam in New York, the only time she reached a slam QF in the season.
Her conditions are in doubt after the problems she showed during the Asian swing, so much that even her participation was in doubt.
Sharapova could possibly finish the year as world number one. She will need a bit of luck and the help of the American, as winning the title with Williams in the final would not be enough, but it is not impossible.
The Russian has won her first title on hardcourts since Indian Wells 2013 in Beijing and her solid year with the second title at Roland Garros put her as a strong favourite. On the fast indoor courts, she may suffer the power of other finalists, but her fighting spirit has often proved to be a stronger weapon than some groundstrokes.
Probably the biggest specialists of these conditions is Petra Kvitova. After her second slam title on the beloved grass of SW19, she lifted a season that started below par and her autumn form puts her as a big contender.
Halep has been within reach of the world number one after the amazing first half of the year. The Romanian has suffered a big loss in her form after the injury that hampered her Wimbledon semifinal. She is a fighter, but it is hard to see her back to the level it is needed to win.
Bouchard is the youngest of the players who qualified and her season has been more successful than any of her fans would hope: a slam final, two semifinals and the first WTA title. She showed to be a great fighter and her form never disappointed on the big stages.
Radwanska’s season has been quite a letdown for her standards and, the past few months, she has dropped even more and suffered many upsets.
Ivanovic and Wozniacki were the last two players to qualify, but their form in the past few months have been impressive and they could be dangerous floaters in both groups.
The Serb has underperformed during the slams, apart from the Australian Open, but she showed her improvements in many tournaments this year and has beaten both the top two seeds this year.
Wozniacki also looked as good as during her best days, when she was world number one. She qualified after a great reaction to the shocking breakup with Rory McIlroy, which led to a great second half of the season and the second slam final at Flushing Meadows. The fast indoor conditions do not suit her game, but her renewed will and fighting spirit are second to none.
In this situation of equilibrium and uncertainty, the way the two groups is drawn will definitely influence a lot the final outcome of the last big event of the women’s season. Before the draw is made, there is one last detail to be decided, Dominika Cibulkova could become the second alternate, had she won one more round in Moscow, but she lost to Ekaterina Makarova. The first spot has been already taken by Angelique Kerber, who would be playing in case of any withdrawal before or during the round robin.
